Gulf Coast lawmakers: Time may be running out for RESTORE Act

(AP file photo/Gerald Herbert)FILE - In this June 5, 2010, file photo Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director P.J. Hahn lifts his boot out of thick beached oil at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay, just off the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, La. Cleaning the oil far beyond the time the leak is capped will become the job of the U.S. Coast Guard and BP. The Houma Incident Command and Control Center in Houma, La. coordinates the different teams cleaning water from the land and sea. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress from the Gulf Coast, joined by local officials in Washington to push for an oil spill fine bill, worried Wednesday that time could be running short for legislation to send what could be billions of dollars in spill fines to the Gulf.

Washington's "toxic" political environment, questions about how and whether to offset the money that would be sent to the Gulf states with other federal revenue, and indifference from elected officials who live far from the Gulf all present challenges, they said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters.

But "time is our biggest obstacle right now, because we want to get something done prior to any kind of settlement between the federal government and BP" on oil spill fines, said Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican sponsoring the bill, dubbed the RESTORE Act, in the House.

Without congressional action, between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion in expected Clean Water Act fines would be on track to go to a fund to pay for the cleanup of future oil spills, as well as to the federal treasury, instead of the Gulf Coast.

Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Biloxi, said he and his colleagues were hoping to pass the legislation before the oil spill's second anniversary in April.

Perhaps the best chance for such quick action would be to attach the proposal to another bill that must pass Congress.

"There are one or two real possibilities in the transportation bill and the payroll tax bill that's coming along, so we remain hopeful," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

Obama administration officials have repeatedly expressed support for sending most of the fine money to the Gulf. But Landrieu called on President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, to do more.

"The president said, in his State of the Union, that he was looking for some strong, bipartisan legislation to support," Landrieu told reporters. "I'd like to, you know, suggest that this is one good candidate."

Supporters of the bill noted that it is backed by Democrats and Republicans, environmentalists and business leaders, and lawmakers from each of the five Gulf Coast states.

The U.S. Department of Justice has long been said to be negotiating with BP PLC over Clean Water Act fines, but department officials have said little about the process. If those negotiations finish and fines are announced before the RESTORE Act passes, it could make passing the bill more difficult.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis last year pegged the cost of the RESTORE Act to the federal treasury at $1.2 billion. Gulf lawmakers have based the amount of offsets -- federal spending cuts or new revenue routinely required for bills that create new government spending -- for the bill on that figure. But if significantly larger fines are announced before the bill passes, Gulf lawmakers may have to find much more in new revenue or spending cuts, which can be very difficult.

Asked about rumors that federal officials may be able to negotiate a settlement with BP that requires them to send money directly to the Gulf Coast, thus avoiding the need for congressional action, Landrieu said she didn't think federal law would allow it.

"Our reading of the law is pretty clear that any penalty money that comes in under the Oil Pollution Act goes to the general fund, and ... it will take an act of Congress to change that," Landrieu said. "When is it possible for an agent of the federal government to disregard federal law?"

Palazzo said that the fine money is only expected to come to the federal government because of the harm endured by the Gulf Coast, so Washington should send it down to the Gulf, instead of trying to pocket it.

"There's absolutely no reason why the federal government should profit off of ... the Gulf states' pain and suffering," Palazzo said.